Only the Beginning
by SkyeWriter
Summary: Danny Fenton didn't know what to expect when he walked into his parents' latest invention and turned it on, but it wasn't this! Now he has to survive his first few weeks of high school and keep this Ghost weirdness under wraps as well! Updates on Fridays.
1. Prologue Part One

**Prologue: A Day in the Life  
Part One**

"Okay, Fenton. You can do this."

Danny Fenton stood in front of his bedroom mirror, glaring at his blue-eyed reflection with what he hoped was an expression of confidence. He straightened up, puffing his chest up and throwing his arms back. _You've only been waiting for this for the last three years. It's just the first day of high school._

"I can do—"

"Danny!"

He deflated instantly, turning in surprise to the door. "Ja-azz..."

Red-headed Jazz Fenton stared at her younger brother a moment, eyebrow raised, then said, "Mom says you need to come down to breakfast; it's getting cold. Okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Danny replied, waving a hand at her to leave. "I'll be down in a minute."

"All right." She made to leave, then glanced back at him. "You know it's nothing to get all worked up about, right?"

"_Yes._" Danny gabbed his backpack up off the floor next to his desk and looked up at her meaningfully. "Can you go now?"

Jazz rolled her eyes and left. Danny barely noticed, his head nearly vanished inside his bag as he rechecked its contents. Notebooks, folders, and most importantly—his schedule and a map of Casper High School. Once he replaced everything, he tossed his backpack on his bed and hurried downstairs.

"Morning," he said as he entered the kitchen and sat down. He began piling bacon and scrambled eggs on his plate.

"Good morning, sweetie." Maddie Fenton looked up from the sheaf of papers before her. "So, it's your big day. How are you feeling?"

"Okay," Danny said through a mouthful of eggs. He poured himself a glass of milk from the carton on the table. "Is there any toast?"

Jazz, her nose buried in another of her psychology books, silently pointed at the toaster, where four slices of toast waited. Danny went over and grabbed a couple slices, then returned to his seat. As he began to butter them, he looked around the table again. "Where's Dad?"

"Down in the lab," Maddie answered. "I think he's getting close to a breakthrough on the ecto-filtration system! Once we get that taken care of, we can move on to power..."

Danny glanced at his sister, who returned his exasperated look. "The portal again?" he asked quietly.

"The portal again," she confirmed.

Danny sighed and scarfed down his toast. His parents were okay sometimes, but at times like now... He shook his head. If he'd been able to choose his parents' careers, Jack and Maddie Fenton would probably have been anything but professional ghost hunters and inventors.

As Danny finished his breakfast, Maddie went down into the basement laboratory to call Jack up to the kitchen. Jazz looked up from her book again. "I think I'm gonna go," she said. "You sure you don't want a ride? This is one-time only, you know, so--"

"Yeah," Danny answered, starting on his third slice of bacon. "I told Sam and Tucker I'd meet 'em on the way."

"All right," Jazz said, snapping her book closed. "If you want a ride home, you know where to find me." She left the kitchen.

"Yeah," Danny answered absent-mindedly, but he dropped his bacon when he realized what he'd just said. "No, Jazz, wait, I don't know where to—" The front door slammed. "Dang it." He picked up his bacon, his worries about the coming day overcoming him again. He hardly noticed when his father's enormous girth filled the chair next to him.

He _did_ notice, however, when his father slapped him on the back, causing him to nearly choke on his food.

As Danny coughed, Jack started in proudly, "So, Danny. It's your first day of high school, eh?"

" cough hack "

"Ah, yes, I remember my first day of high school, too..." He smiled widely at the memory. "It was September of '75 and—"

"Jack, are you sure you got this calculation right?" Maddie interrupted, squinting at a scrap of paper she'd brought up from the lab. "And Danny, if you're meeting Tucker and Sam, you probably want to get going. You wouldn't want to be late on your first day of school." She smiled at him, and very quickly winked.

" cough no." Danny got up, rubbing his chest with one hand. "No. Uh, thanks for breakfast, Mom. 'Bye!"

"Bye, sweetie!"

"Have a great day, son!"

Danny grinned, ran upstairs and grabbed his backpack, then left out the front door.

Ten minutes and three blocks later, Danny stopped in front of a blue townhouse, where two teenagers sat on the porch steps. "Good morning, fellow high school student," said one of them, an African-American boy in yellow shirt and red beret.

"Morning, Tuck," Danny replied. "Hey, Sam."

The girl in black and violet grinned, then stood up. "Hey, Danny." She picked up her backpack. "Can you believe we've finally made it to high school?"

"No," Danny answered.

"Yes," Tucker said at the same moment. "Anyway," he went on, pulling a PDA out of his pocket, "we should probably get a move on. According to my GPS we're approximately four blocks away from the school, and we don't want to be late until we actually know where our classes and stuff are."

Sam stared at him a moment, then started walking. "You know, I still can't believe you spent the last two weeks building that simulation of the school. They _did_ give us maps at orientation, you know."

"I know," Tucker said matter-of-factly. "But what's a map compared to a fully realized 3-D sim?"

"The _exact. same. thing._"

"You have your ways, I have mine." He glanced at Danny. "So how are things over at Ghost Hunter Central?"

"Eh, the same," Danny replied, shrugging. "They're still working on the Fenton Portal. It's been nothing but ecto-filler this and—and flux capacitor that at every meal."

"So you think they're serious about this one?" Sam asked.

"I _know_ they are. I don't think they've ever been so nuts about something before."

"Besides ghosts," Tucker pointed out.

"Well, yeah. Besides ghosts."

"So... will it actually work, when they're done with it?" Sam raised her eyebrows.

"Do pigs fly?" Danny asked incredulously. "I mean, okay, maybe it could, but considering how much of their other stuff has..." He shrugged again. "Things aren't exactly leaning in their favor."

"And as much as I'd like to continue this conversation," Tucker said, stopping at the street corner, "I'm afraid we'll have to cut it short. Lady and gentleman—we have _arrived._"

Casper High School sat spread out before them, almost shining in the morning sun.


	2. Prologue Part Two

**Prologue – A Day in the Life  
Part Two**

"Now comes the hard part," Danny said. "Finding everything." He pulled off his pack and rummaged through it for his map of the school.

"That, and trying not to look like a total freshman," Tucker added, as they crossed the street. "I've heard initiation can be _harsh._"

"A heh, yeah." Danny glanced nervously at the group of letter jacket-wearing jocks standing on the school's front lawn.

"You guys _do_ know that they can't do anything to us here, right?" Sam asked, glancing between her two friends. "It's only the kids that go to the Nasty Burger that get all that stuff done to them."

"That's not what I hear," Tucker said, pressing a few buttons his PDA. "I'm not going anywhere near the bathrooms until at least three weeks in."

"And besides," Danny said, "if this is anything like middle schools, none of the teachers will care." He glanced down at his map. "Okay. So we're here in the lobby, and my locker"—he dug a paper card out of his pocket—"is number 237. Which is... where?" He looked around, and then back down at his map.

"Mmm... hang on." Tucker punched a few more buttons, his tongue stuck out in concentration.

"Freshman lockers are on the first floor," Sam said in a bored voice. "Come on." She walked off down the nearest corridor. Danny and Tucker exchanged looks, then hurried after her, Tucker once again intent on his PDA.

A couple minutes later Sam stopped in front of locker 237, a wry grin on her face. "Ta da. And I didn't even need a simulation."

Tucker barely registered this comment. "Huh. That's weird. My sim says we should be on the first floor, second corridor."

"My point exactly."

"Maybe if I recalibrate the navigation..." He whipped out a stylus and started poking away. Sam rolled her eyes; Danny grinned.

"Thanks," he said, now trying his combination. "How do you know where this _is_ anyway?"

"Because instead of admiring all the pretty girls from Lakeside during orientation, I actually went and found all my classes." The slightest edge of contempt laced her words.

Danny blushed a little at this and redoubled his efforts to open the locker. Once the door sprang open, Danny shouldered off his backpack. "First things first," he said, and pulled out a photograph of himself and his friends. He affixed it to the locker's back wall, then shoved his backpack in after it. He pulled out a few crucial items, slammed the door closed and turned back to his friends, looking at his schedule. "First period is Health and Life Skills, room 217." He reached to pull out his map, but Tucker grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"No need for maps, buddy," he said confidently. "Foley's School Simulation version 1.2 is ready to go!"

"Are you sure we won't end up on an imaginary fourth floor or anything?" Sam asked slyly.

"Just wait and see," Tucker said. "I'll punch in our destination and the sim will do the rest. Come on."

This time Danny and Sam exchanged glances, and followed Tucker as he walked down the hall.

Five minutes later, however...

"Tuck, I think we're lost," Danny said, glancing around.

"No, we're not," Tucker said. "I just need to run another calibration—"

"Or you could use a map," Sam pointed out.

"Yeah." Danny pulled out his map and looked down at it, walking forward. "I think we're—" He stopped short as he accidentally ran into someone. "Sorr—"

The apology died in his throat as he looked up at the hulking and muscular Dash Baxter, already wearing his letter jacket for the JV football team.

"Watch it, Fenton!"

"Dash!" Danny stepped back, his blue eyes wide with panic. "I didn't see you—"

"Well," Dash said, grabbing Danny by the front of his shirt and lifting him up, "why don't you try and see me next time, huh? Or you're gonna regret it." Their faces were inches apart for a few seconds, and then Dash dropped him and stalked away, his friends following him.

Sam went to help Danny up, watching Dash with a look of disgust on her face. "Ugh. He is such a jerk." She shook her head. "And a bully. And no one'll do a thing about it."

"Why would they?" Tucker had pocketed his PDA a moment to help gather Danny's things.

"Yeah, he's such a sports golden boy no one wants to get him in trouble." Danny dusted off his jeans and took his notebook from Tucker. "Anyway, first period—"

"It's down the next hall," Sam said with a sigh, leading the way once again.

Once they were in class, much of the morning passed by without incident. The trio had their first three classes together, but split up for various fourth period classes, right before lunch. Danny successfully navigated his way to his class, sat through another explanation of school policies (_Geez, don't they know we get it already?)_, then made his way to the lunchroom. He found Tucker and Sam sitting at the end of one table, Tucker looking peeved and Sam trying hard not to laugh. "Hey guys," he said, sitting down across from them with his tray of food. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Tucker said, trying to jam his beret further down on his head. Sam giggled.

"Yeah, right. Tell him," she prompted.

Tucker glared at her, and picked up his fork to poke at the meat mush on his tray.

"Fine, I will, then." Sam looked at Danny, a wicked grin on her face. "Apparently the Foley School Sim 1.2—"

"It was 1.3," Tucker corrected.

"Whatever. Apparently it is no more, since it 'navigated' him straight into a group of seniors with Sharpies."

Danny had to chuckle. "Did they get you bad, Tuck?" he asked. He had seen some of his classmates with a full treatment—large Fs on their hands and foreheads and the word "Freshmeat" written up their arms.

Tucker, scowling at Sam, lifted up his beret to reveal a large black 'F' on his forehead. "I guess I got off lucky."

"At least your hat covers it," Danny pointed out, spearing some overcooked and greasy green beans on his fork.

"Yeah, I guess." Tucker scowled.

"Anyway," Sam said, "Seeing as this'll be like the first and only time we won't have homework over the weekend, what do you guys wanna do on Friday?"

"I dunno," Danny replied with a shrug. "Are there any good movies out?"

"Not really." Tucker had whipped out his PDA and was tapping at it with his stylus. "But I heard there's a preview of 'Dead Teacher IV' on 'Edge of Beyond.' How's that sound?"

"Good for me," Danny said.

"Same here. I kinda want to see that one anyway; it looks pretty good."

They talked about movies until the lunch period ended.

Three boring 45-minute blocks of school rules later, the bell rang and Danny, satisfied with his first day, headed home.


	3. Prologue Part Three

Prologue – A Day in the Life

**Prologue – A Day in the Life**

**Part Three**

"I would've given you a ride home, you know," Jazz said when Danny came in the front door.

Danny glared at her a moment, then asked, "Are Mom and Dad downstairs?"

Jazz rolled her eyes and nodded, then went back to her book. Danny, after pulling out some papers, dropped his backpack at the foot of stairs, then went through the kitchen and down the narrow staircase to the basement.

Most families' basements were cold and musty places, filled with old moving boxes and various junk that wouldn't fit anywhere else. The Fenton basement seemed the exception to this standard; Jack and Maddie had fitted it out as a working laboratory. Stainless steel panels covered the walls, and the room was lined with worktables littered with beakers and spare parts. The far wall, however, was empty save for the large metal contraption that was Jack Fenton's pride and joy—the Fenton Portal.

It had certainly come a long way from the vague sketches Jack had hung on the wall nearly two years before, Danny thought. The eight-foot tall hexagon took up most of the wall, much like the early blueprints had implied; unlike the blueprints, though, the thing looked like it might actually work. Danny frowned and shook his head.

"Mom? Dad?" he called, navigating around the boxes of tools and junk scattered across the lab floor.

"In here, sweetie," Maddie's voice answered, echoing weirdly from inside the Portal. Danny approached the gaping mouth of the machine in time to see Maddie step down from a ladder. Jack stood next to her, tinkering with something on the wall. "Get those last wires hooked up and that should do it, Jack." She turned to Danny, smiling warmly. "So, how was school?"

Danny shrugged. "It was boring, just rules and stuff. And I, um, need you to sign some stuff." He held up the papers in his hand.

"Of course, sweetie. Just put 'em by the computer and I'll look at them once we're done here." She went over to one of the worktables and began poring over some papers.

"Okay." Danny placed the papers under a beaker standing in for a pen cup by the computer; he turned to leave just as Jack emerged from the Portal, wiping his hands on a rag.

"Danny!" he bellowed. Danny winced and faced his father with a somewhat forced smile. "How was your first day of high school, eh, son?"

"Fine," Danny replied. "Um... How's the Portal coming along?" He slowly began to back towards the door.

"Great!" Jack beamed, glancing back at the Portal with pride. "Just a couple more days of work and she'll be ready to go. We still need to connect the particle transfer firers..." He went off onto a long spiel of technobabble; Danny tried to look interested as he continued his sidle toward the stairs.

His mother rescued him once again. "Danny, could you go up to the kitchen? There's a casserole in the freezer, and if you could stick in the oven at about 375, it should be ready in a couple hours."

"Sure, Mom." Danny made tracks.

He pulled out he casserole and set the oven to preheat, then went to go put his bag up in his room. The last thing he needed was Jazz yelling at him for something else.

Up in his room, he caught his reflection in his mirror and had to grin. Jazz had been right—there really hadn't been much to worry about today. Once he managed to find everything, it was gonna be the same old thing every day from now until summer. He shook his head.

Danny ran back downstairs to put the casserole in the oven, grab a snack, and maybe call Tucker.


	4. Chapter One Part One

Chapter One: The Portal

**Chapter One: The Portal**

**Part One**

Tap. Tap tap. Tappa tappity tap tap. Tappity tappity tappa tap tap tappity...

"Danny, time to get up."

"Mmnf."

Danny rolled over in bed that Friday morning and opened his eyes to look blearily at his mother. She smiled at him and left. Danny turned onto his back and stared at the ceiling, dimly aware of the rain tapping rapidly on his window.

Tappity tap tappa tappa tappity...

Fall out of bed five minutes later, get dressed while trying to stay awake, quick trip down the hall to the bathroom. Wet down hair with cold water to make it look halfway decent (the icy trickles down his neck doing their part to wake him up). Head downstairs, passing Jazz on the way; ignore her usual comment—breakfast is more important. Sit down at the table, which is strangely empty except for Jazz's bagel and cream cheese and psych book, pour a bowl of cereal—

"Hey," Jazz said, sitting down and cracking open her book again. "You heard me, right?"

"Mmm?" Danny opened the carton of milk and poured it over his cereal.

Jazz sighed and rolled her eyes. "Of course you didn't. I'm driving you to school. Mom doesn't want you walking in the rain, and well..." She glanced at the door that led to the basement laboratory.

"Where are Mom and Dad, anyway?" Danny asked, digging in to his cereal.

A loud crash carried up from the basement, shaking the kitchen table. Danny's spoon rattled in his bowl. Jazz raised an eyebrow at him.

"...Oh." He stared at the basement door a moment, sighed, and then continued with his cereal.

"So it's almost done?" Tucker asked.

"Apparently," Danny said, shrugging, then shivering. Even with his backpack doubling as an umbrella, his mad dash from Jazz's car to the school building had managed to get him wet enough to make him cold. He shoved his backpack in his locker and pulled out one of his notebooks. "Dad said it was gonna be ready by tonight. I guess if you wanna see it you can stop by after we're done at the movies."

"If we can still go." Tucker pointed at a nearby window; the rain poured unrelenting. "Unless this clears up, we're gonna be homebound. My parents are going out—"

"And Jazz won't take us anywhere. Eeh. And Sam—"

"What about me?"

Danny and Tucker both turned to greet Sam, but their greetings stuck in their throats on seeing her—she was soaked from head to toe. She stared back at them with a quizzical look on her face. "What, guys?"

"You look like you just climbed out of a pool," Danny said, raising an eyebrow. "Did you fall into a puddle or something?"

"What? No!" She walked past then down to her locker, her boots squelching with every step. Danny and Tucker exchanged confused glances and followed her.

"So how'd you get all wet?" Tucker asked. A sly grin crept up his face. "A random bucket of water on the front door?"

"Ha ha, very funny," Sam snapped, opening her locker. "In case you hadn't noticed, Tucker, it's _raining_, and my umbrella broke about a block from the school. So of course I'm soaking wet." She began pulling out books.

"Wait a sec. You _walked_ here?" Tucker asked. "In this weather?"

"Yes," Sam replied without missing a beat.

"But—why didn't you have your parents drive you or something?" Danny asked, flabbergasted.

"I overslept," Sam said in a tone of voice that made Danny and Tucker realize the subject was now dropped. "So, are we still on for the movies tonight?"

"Only if it stops raining." Danny grimaced. "We don't really have any way to get there except our scooters, and we can't use them in the rain."

"We can always hang at Danny's place, though," Tucker said with a shrug; Danny nodded. "Apparently that Portal of his dad's is gonna be ready."

Sam grinned. "Really?"

Danny nodded. "That's what Dad said. You guys can come over if you want to see it so bad. Dad'll be thrilled." He grinned.

"Hey, you know I never miss a chance to see a Fenton invention in action," Tucker said. He and Sam had been around the Fenton home when some of Jack's inventions had failed spectacularly.

"Yeah, but what if it works?" Sam shut her locker. "I mean come on—a parallel dimension? How cool is that?"

"Eh." Danny shrugged.

"What?"

He shrugged again. "Most of the stuff my dad comes up with doesn't work, you guys know that." They started down the hallway, Danny leading the way as he spoke. "I mean, sometimes, heh, it's because he forgets something, but a lot of the other times..." He trailed off, glancing at them significantly.

Sam and Tucker shook their heads and dropped the subject.


	5. Chapter One Part Two

The rain continued all day

**Chapter One: The Portal**

**Part Two**

The rain continued all day. When the dismissal bell rang that afternoon, it was pouring as hard as it had that morning. Danny, Sam, and Tucker exchanged a glance. "I guess we could see if Jazz'll take us," Danny said hopefully.

"No."

"But Jazz—"

"No," Jazz repeated, shutting her locker as she turned to face her brother and his friends. "I've already got plans, and I don't have time to drag you three around town."

"You've got plans?" Danny said. "Since when?"

"Since the Portal's probably going live tonight. I don't want to be in the house when that thing goes off." She started down the hallway; Danny, Tucker, and Sam followed.

"Well," Danny went on, starting to sound desperate, "could you gives a ride to the house then? We're gonna hang out tonight."

"sigh Sure. Come on."

The three teens arrived at Fenton Works (as the large neon sign attached to the front of the house proclaimed) in good spirits. Maddie was delighted to see Sam and Tucker. "It's no trouble," she assured them, looking up from the notes and schematics scattered before her on the kitchen table. "I'll order out for pizza later on. Just make sure you call your parents and let them know where you are. And you kids could be in for a treat—we're just about done with the Fenton Portal!"

Tucker and Sam both grinned; Danny, his head in the fridge as he looked for snacks, rolled his eyes. A few minutes later, the trio made their way upstairs laden with some food and drinks. Tucker fired up the old (and oft-repaired) Super Nintendo Danny had in his room, and they all took turns at playing while discussing school, homework, and anything else that came up.

"You guys have that guy—um, Mr. Lancer, right?" Danny asked, staring at the ceiling from his bed.

"Yeah, we've both got him for English," Sam said, speaking for Tucker as well as herself. (Tucker, in the middle of some serious button-mashing at the foot of the bed, merely grunted something that sounded like a yes.) "Why?"

"Nothing, I was just wondering." Danny rolled over. "He seems kinda strict, is all."

"Well what else would you expect from the vice principal?" Tucker quipped. "Yah! Take _that!_"

Danny and Sam both grinned. Sam, though, reached up and whapped Danny gently on the side of the head. "Look, it's too early to start worrying about your grades, okay? You always do fine anyway."

"Yeah." Danny grinned, a little sheepishly. "It's not like we'll be doing anything else with our time, right?"

"Right."

"Mmhm—nght! Darnit!" Melancholy music played as the television screen flashed "GAME OVER." Tucker set the controller aside and grabbed on of the bags of potato chips on the floor. He shoved a chip in his mouth, but instantly made a face and threw the bag to the floor. "Ugh-lime and vinegar."

Danny grinned at his friend and leaned over to grab the discarded bag. "Hey, don't knock 'em."

Tucker, who had picked up the other bag of chips, shook his head. "Man, I don't see how you can eat those."

"Eh, it's an acquired taste," Danny replied, popping a couple chips in his mouth.

"I'm surprised you _don't _eat 'em, Tuck," Sam said. "You eat just about everything."

"Hey..."

"She's got a point." Danny took a swig from his soda. "I don't think that stuff they had at lunch today was—"

"Healthy?" Sam offered. She grabbed the controller and started another game. "Edible? Non-sentient?"

Danny and Tucker both snorted.

"That stuff's not so bad," Tucker said. "But lime and vinegar chips? Eugh."

"Suit yourself. There's more for me, then."

"You can keep 'em. Barbecue and I are happy with our relationship." He shook the bag in his hands and moved out of the way so Sam could get a better look at her game.

The afternoon passed by uneventfully, save for the occasional booms and bangs from the basement that shook the house. The loudest of these yet came a little after five o'clock. "Geez, what _was_ that?" Sam asked.

Danny, having grown up with such disturbances almost weekly, shrugged. "Prolly means they're almost done." He stood up. "Come on." The three headed downstairs. Finding the first floor silent and empty, Danny shrugged and opened the door to the basement. "We can at least ask about the pizza," he said. And they descended to the lab.


	6. Chapter One Part Three

The excitement in the air was almost palpable; Danny, Tucker, and Sam all stopped at the foot of the stairs Chapter One: The Portal

**Part Three**

The excitement in the air was almost palpable; Danny, Tucker, and Sam all stopped at the foot of the stairs. The Portal _gleamed_ from the far wall (indeed, the room smelled strongly of polish), and Jack and Maddie bustled in front of it in a near-manic blur.

"Ecto-filtration system?"

"Yup."

"Internal power converter?"

"Yup." Jack turned and spotted the kids. "Danny! You're just in time!"

"Things are just about ready," Maddie said from a control panel in the wall.

Danny started to say something, but stopped short and blushed furiously when his father shoved a black and white jumpsuit into his hands. "Here, son! Better safe than sorry," Jack said, a proud grin on his face. Danny put the jumpsuit over the back of a nearby chair and gave Sam and Tucker a look—_never mention this again_—and then the three of them drew closer to the Portal.

"You almost done there, Maddie?"

"Just one more..." A few seconds' tense silence, and then—"Done! We're ready to go!" Jack let out a cry; Maddie turned to Danny, Tucker, and Sam. "I wouldn't come any closer, kids. The reaction should be pretty self-contained, but if there's trouble you three don't need to be getting hurt."

They nodded.

"Everybody ready?" Jack said, holding an unplugged extension cord in each hand.

"Whenever you are, hon," Maddie said.

Jack smiled, looking around at them all. "Well..." His voice shook a moment, then steadied. "Here we go, folks! The Fenton Portal is going live!"

He plugged the extension cords together; everyone held their breath.

A low mechanical whine sounded from within the Portal.

Jack and Maddie both inhaled sharply. The anticipation filling the room became noticeably thicker.

The whine grew steadily louder, and a series of lights flicked on in the Portal's interior—

Jack leaned forward, eyes wide.

--and then the whine died abruptly, every light shut off with a _fzzzt!_, and the Portal shut off with a loud clank.

Beat.

Everyone, even Danny, blinked in surprise; Jack let out a gasp as if he had been punched in the stomach. "But—we checked everything, it... it should've..." He took a couple steps forward, staggering with disbelief. The plugged extension cord dropped to the lab floor with a thunk.

"Jack..." Maddie went forward.

Danny glanced at Tucker and Sam, then led the way upstairs. Sam, bringing up the rear, stopped at the foot of the stairs, staring at the Portal with an inscrutable look on her face.

They retreated to Danny's room. Danny started another video game; Tucker watched him, but Sam started digging through her backpack. After a few minutes of silence, Tucker said, "It kinda stinks that it didn't work. For your Dad, I mean."

Danny set down the controller. "Yeah. I mean... it actually looked like it _was_ gonna work there for a second."

"I wonder what went wrong." Tucker looked thoughtful.

"Who knows." Danny shrugged. "Maybe Dad forgot to hit a button and it'll work fine the next time they try. Maybe it—" He stopped short. He had noticed Sam, who was still knelt on the floor, rummaging through her bag. "Sam, what're you doing?"

"Looking for something," Sam answered.

"Um, yeah, we can see that. What are you looking for?" Danny and Tucker stared at her.

Sam didn't reply, instead pulling a few folders and some crumpled up papers from the bag and setting them on the floor beside her. "Aha." And she produced a slightly worse for wear Polaroid camera. "I thought I still had it in there."

"Your camera?" Danny raised an eyebrow.

"You haven't had that thing out since..." Tucker faltered. "I think since school got out _last _year."

"Yeah, so?" Sam checked the camera briefly for any damage, then held it up—"Say cheese!"—and snapped a picture of Tucker and Danny's bewildered faces.

_Snckkt-fwiir!_ A photograph slid out the front of the camera. Sam grabbed it and flapped it around as it developed.

Danny and Tucker were still reacting.

"Aw, geez, Sam!"

"What'd you do that for?!"

"Oh be quiet, you guys, it's just a picture." She held it up for them to see. "I just wanted to see if it had any more film."

Danny rubbed his eyes. "You could've warned us."

Sam only grinned.

"Why do you still have that thing anyway?" Tucker asked.

"I forgot to take it out of my backpack," Sam replied with a shrug. "Well... I thought I might take some pics Wednesday, but I forgot amid the adventures of the School Sim 1.2."

"It was 1.3," Tucker corrected in a slightly hurt voice.

"Whatever. And I was thinking maybe we could go down to your parents' lab later. I want to take a few pics of the Portal."

Danny frowned. "Why?"

Sam shrugged again. "Just because."

Danny opened his mouth to reply when a soft knock sounded at the bedroom door. Maddie poked her head into the room, the hood on her jumpsuit pulled back and her face smudged with soot... and something else. "Hey, kids. I'm ordering the pizza—do you all want a split-topping--?"

"Pepperoni," Danny and Tucker chorused.

"Veggie for my half, Mrs. Fenton," Sam said. "Thanks."

"Yeah, thanks, Mrs. F."

"Thanks, Mom."

She smiled at them. "It's no problem, kids. And if you all want to pop in a movie downstairs, you're more than welcome." She gave Danny a brief but rather knowing look—_Your father would appreciate the company._

Danny nodded. "We might." Maddie left, leaving the door ajar; Danny looked at Tucker and Sam. "So. You guys wanna watch a movie?"

Tucker grinned. "Depends. You got the original 'Dead Teacher'?"


	7. Chapter One Part Four

The next couple of hours passed by with pizza and a low grade horror movie Chapter One: The Portal

**Part Four**

The next couple of hours passed by with pizza and a low grade horror movie. Danny, Tucker, and Sam all crammed on the couch. Jack sat nearby in the armchair, occasionally speaking to the teens about the movie (which they were enjoying immensely), but mostly staring off into space or sketching on the tops of the pizza boxes. Maddie joined them briefly when the pizza arrived, then retreated back into the kitchen, where she pored over piles of notes and diagrams. The rain continued unabated, and as the evening wore on thunder began to sound distantly.

An hour or so after the movie ended—for Tucker had insisted on watching the behind-the-scenes documentary included on the DVD—Sam got up from the couch and went upstairs. She came back down with her camera and looked pointedly at Danny.

Danny sighed and rolled his eyes, then glanced at his father. Jack had ripped the lid off one of the boxes of pizza and was scribbling on it furiously. Danny got up and motioned at Sam and Tucker to follow him.

They entered the kitchen, where Maddie sat still. "Hey, Mom? We're gonna go down and get on the computer, okay?"

"All right, sweetie," Maddie answered distractedly. "Just don't mess with anything around the Portal, all right?"

"Okay."

Danny opened the door to the basement. Tucker and Sam headed down the stairs; Danny followed. The door swung shut behind him.

Sam made a beeline for the Portal as soon as she stepped into the lab. Tucker followed her, drifting over to look at the control panel installed in the wall. Danny hung back near the door.

"Hey, Danny?"

Danny headed down the room to where Tucker and Sam were, tripping slightly on the way—the jumpsuit Jack had handed to him earlier had fallen to the floor. He picked it up and continued on his way. "What is it?"

Tucker gestured at the panel of buttons and gauges on the wall beside the Portal. "Do you know what any of these do?"

"No," Danny replied promptly. "They're probably like… regulators or something. My Mom would know—"

"Danny."

"What—" He turned around to look at Sam.

_snckkt-fwiir_

--and took another eyeful of the Polaroid's flash. "_Geez_, Sam. Could you give a _little_ warning next time?"

She grinned at him, and held up the picture for them to see. The Portal took up a good half of the frame, and Danny stood next to it, holding the jumpsuit in one hand and staring at the camera with a deer-in-the-headlights expression. Tucker could be seen on the right side of the picture, just behind Danny.

"It looks pretty cool," Sam said, looking at the photo herself. She came up to the mouth of the Portal, staring inside. "And it really does stink this thing didn't work. Hm." She glanced at Danny. "Hey, can you pose for one more shot? Like this one, but this time it'll look better." She waved the photograph around.

Danny sighed and rolled his eyes. "Sure, fine." He stood to one side of the Portal and held the jumpsuit with both hands. "This good?"

"Yep." Sam and Tucker both stepped back. "Smile!" Sam took the picture.

"Okay, are you done now?" Danny asked, blinking the flash out of his eyes again.

"Yeah, but…" She looked at the Portal thoughtfully.

"But what?"

"Yeah, what?" Tucker glanced at her sidelong.

"Well, I was thinking…" Sam bit her lip. "What if—it actually did work?"

Danny blinked, this time in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"I mean maybe… maybe your parents actually did open a portal to another dimension, only it's invisible or something."

"Or so small they can't see it," Tucker said slowly. "No one's ever ripped through reality before, so…"

Danny had to grin. "So, what, they opened up a belly button sized portal instead?"

"It's possible," Tucker answered, shrugging. "This thing's pretty big, but maybe it just doesn't put out enough power."

"And you'll never know unless you look." Sam smiled a little. "And come on, Danny—a 'Ghost world'? Aren't you at least a little curious? You gotta check it out."

Danny raised an eyebrow, still grinning at them wryly. "Why me?"

"It's your parents' invention," Tucker pointed out.

"And I don't do white." Sam indicated the jumpsuit.

"You know what?" Danny said after a moment. "I think I will." He began to unzip the front of the jumpsuit and shrugged at them. "I mean—who knows, maybe Dad _did_ forget to hit a button." He pulled on the suit over his jeans and t-shirt and zipped it back up. The black collar of the suit came halfway up his neck; it was a little restrictive, as was much of the skin-tight suit. Danny swung his arms experimentally. "Man, this is weird. Well—" he turned to the Portal—"here goes nothing, I guess."

He stepped through the great hole of the Portal's entrance. Naturally, nothing happened, but something prickled in the back of his mind. A sense of… warning? Anticipation? He couldn't tell, and continued forward into the Portal.

"So?" Sam called. "See anything?"

"No," Danny replied, looking around. His voice echoed weirdly. "It seems pretty normal." He noticed something to his left. "Hold on." Again that prickling sensation. Danny bent forward for a closer look and had to chuckle. "It's an on/off button," he said. "Heh, Dad must've forgot to hit it."

Tucker and Sam both laughed. Tucker called back, "Well, push it!"

And Danny—the prickling turning into goosebumps down his neck—reached forward and gave the "ON" button a little push.

It sank smoothly beneath his touch. He heard it click.

Beat.

His heart pounded in his chest.

Nothing happened.

He stared at the button for a moment.

"Huh. I guess it doesn't work after all." Danny turned to the lab and started back towards Tucker and Sam.

Just two steps, and he froze, eyes wide.

For a loud low hum had begun to sound around him.

Fwik.

Fwik, fwik.

The lights installed into the mechanism's walls flicked on one row after another, retreating to the very back of the Portal.

And Danny turned around.

And what he saw made his pounding heart stop.

A bright, blue green light shone at the far end of the Portal. A bright light growing brighter and larger by the second. And coming towards _him._

The light filled his vision.

Tucker and Sam watched in frozen horror as a white light or energy or _some_thing silhouetted and engulfed their friend.

Jack and Maddie both looked up from their work as the loudest clap of thunder yet sounded.

Jazz, driving up the block in her car, slammed the brakes as the lights at Fenton Works –and the streetlights, and the lights of every other house on the block and beyond—winked out.

Danny screamed, and the scream stretched on until the whiteness turned to darkness.


	8. Chapter Two Part One

Chapter Two – This Day of Change

**Chapter Two – This Day of Change**

**Part One**

"The sky was falling. Ah. Okay. Skies don't fall; therefore I was dead."

--_Sunshine_, Robin McKinley

Light, heat, _something else_ hit him. Didn't hit him—_entered_ him. Went through the suit, through his skin, and _into him._ Then—

Pain.

Pain far worse than anything he had experienced, inside and out. He screamed, but couldn't hear it for the rushing that filled his ears and the low hum that resonated through him.

And through the hum, through the pain, through the light he saw the flick of memory, vivid in his mind's eye. The picnic outings with his family as a child. Fireworks and sparklers on the Fourth of July. The first day of school. Meeting Tucker after they ran headfirst into one another one the playground in first grade. Meeting Sam a few months or weeks later, after she kicked Dash Baxter for picking on her and Tucker and Danny.

Dimmest of thoughts as this flew before him: I must be dead. My life is flashing before my eyes. He spared the slightest amusement at this thought.

Memory twisted into mere pictures—his parents. Jazz. Tucker and Sam. All smiling at him, and all fading, slowly slipping away…

NO!

And he reached, reached through the hum, through the pain, through the light—

_**LIFE.**_

Seconds passed between the moment Danny vanished from their sight and the moment the Portal spat him out on the floor. Tucker and Sam felt each second stretch into eternity.

Their jaws dropped when the light appeared at the back of the Portal. Common sense fled, replaced by a base fear; neither of them thought to break the mysterious spell by shouting.

The light engulfed Danny and they heard him scream and they started to react. The light grew brighter and they both looked away. Tucker looked to the right and spotted the extension cord plug, lying on the floor, starkly shadowed.

Sam closed her eyes, her mind racing, her thoughts all over the place. _Oh no what did I do what's happening oh no no no he can't be what's going on he can't—_

Tucker practically _dove_ for the plug. He seized it with both hands and pulled. And pulled. And looked when the ends did not come apart, and dropped it and jumped back with a cry when it began to spark and smoke. "_No!"_ He looked at the Portal gain, the intense light now dimmed, now more greenish than white. "Danny!"

The Portal flashed bright briefly, as if in answer to Tucker's cry and then—

A small lanky figure flew out of the Portal and slid to a stop on the floor near them.

"Danny!" The cry came in unison, and they rushed to him—

--and stopped dead when they saw him clearly.

_Curiosity killed the cat. But you… you're not dead._

…

_Breathe.__ Otherwise you __will__ be dead._

Quick thoughts not his own. Huh.

But he did breathe, felt the air come through his nose and out his mouth. With each breath his mind, which felt slow and cottony at the moment, unstuck a little. _What happened?_ He tried to cast his memory back to no avail.

_Something did, certainly._

He felt a cool hard floor under his back. Hm. _What happened? I remember..._

_Light, Pain, Memory, Life._

…_voices._

"…gotta check it out!"

"…your parents' invention…"

Sam. Tucker. Pieces came back. The Fenton Portal. Which didn't work. Down in the lab. What else? Hm. He took a deep breath, this time dimly aware of a strange sensation in the pit of his stomach.

He heard voices, this time in reality.

"Danny." A small scared voice that he almost didn't recognize—Sam. That was strange. Sam was never scared. "Tucker, Tucker I think he's—Danny? Danny, can you hear me?"

He nodded. More pieces, fragments—the pulling on of a black and white radiation jumpsuit. A button giving smoothly beneath his finger. And—

_Light. Pain. Memory. Life._

"—thank goodness, oh, we thought you were—" Sam stopped.

Danny took another deep breath and opened his eyes. Sam and Tucker gasped. "I'm fine," Danny said, sitting up. He paused and frowned. His voice sounded… _weird._ Echoy. "What—" He stopped, blinked, and looked down at his arm, which felt like it was sinking through the floor, but that was—

His arm was gone.

…_impossible?!_

Danny stared for a second, then yanked his arm—the part he could still _feel_ was there—out of the floor. It reappeared almost instantly, but… hadn't the jumpsuit been white? And the glove part black? And... was he _glowing_? He looked at Tucker and Sam. "What happened?"

Tucker shook his head. "I—we don't know, man. It blew up and you were gone, and then it chucked you out on the floor and—"

"Kids! Are you all right down there?" Maddie's voice carried down the stairwell.

Sam and Tucker both turned towards the stairs with anxious expressions on their faces. Danny slowly got to his feet, glancing between them. "Guys, what's—"

He stopped short, and with good reason—a bright ball of bluish light had blossomed around his middle. His stomach felt like it had dropped out of him completely. The light expanded into a large, blue-white ring. The ring divided in two and the duplicates slid away from one another, up and down his body. As they separated, the now mostly black jumpsuit vanished, replaced by Danny's jeans and T-shirt. His stomach returned from wherever it had gone and he felt—_normal_ again. And _tired._ The rings hovered a moment above his head and at his feet, then vanished.

Danny glanced between his friends again, eyes wide. They were both as shocked as he. "What—what was that?"


	9. Chapter Two Part Two

Chapter Two – This Day of Change

**Chapter Two – This Day of Change**

**Part Two**

Neither Sam nor Tucker answered him. They all three stared at each other in the dim light of the lab, slowly realizing that the power had gone out. Danny looked around the lab. "What happened?" he asked again.

This time a step on the stair kept Tucker and Sam from answering him. They all jumped a bit, but relaxed when Maddie appeared, holding a flashlight and looking a little worried. "Are you all right, kids? I think the storm knocked the power out, and if the breaker was—" She broke off as her flashlight swept the whole of the lab. "What happened to the Portal?"

The three teens turned to look at the Portal. In the dark it was difficult to tell, but it looked as though the Portal's pair of caution-striped doors had closed.

Maddie frowned. "Did any of you see what happened?" she asked, stepping forward and walking over to one of the consoles installed next to the Portal.

Danny, Tucker, and Sam all exchanged a series of anxious glances. Sam started in, improvising wildly, "There was like a flash or something when the power went out, I think—" She glanced at Tucker desperately.

He came in and finished it: "And I think I heard the doors slam shut. It was hard to tell."

"Huh." Maddie was now crouched over a panel, hitting buttons with one hand and muttering under her breath. "Surge from the power might have overloaded the internal converter... activated the emergency procedures, then?" More muttering, buttons on the panel beeping as she pressed them. "Run a diagnostic..." A sharp curse, under her breath. "Kids, get upstairs," she said, turning back to them. "Danny, tell your father to get down here. We might have a bit of a... situation."

"A what?" Sam blinked. "Is something--?"

"It's nothing to worry about," she said reassuringly, smiling tightly. She stepped forward to usher them towards the stairs. "The power outage caused a bit of... weirdness with the Portal, and... well, better safe than sorry."

So they headed upstairs, walked through the kitchen, Danny rather sluggishly leading the way. Tucker and Sam glanced at one another and followed him closely as he entered the living room. "Hey Dad..." He started softly, but swallowed and went on a bit louder. "Uh, Mom wants you down in the lab, the storm did something to the Portal, I think..." He shrugged.

"Really? Hm. All right then." Jack frowned, and abandoned his pizza box sketches on the floor next to his armchair to head down to the lab.

The trio stood there in the living room a moment, silent. Danny yawned widely and rubbed the back of his neck. "Man. Let's go back to my room." He shook his head, trying to ward off sleepiness and not succeeding. He led the way once again, Tucker and Sam tailing him closely.

He walked heavily up the stairs, one hand on the banister just in case—and a weird tingly feeling shot up his arm. And stayed there. He couldn't feel the cold metal of the railing under his hand anymore, either. Confused, he looked, and part of the railing was—going _through_ his hand. He jerked back. "What?"

"What?" Tucker and Sam spoke in unison, stopped behind him.

"What was that?" Sam asked.

"I dunno." Danny shook his hand around a little bit; the tingling left as soon as it had come. "Huh." He fought back another yawn, shrugged and continued upstairs.

They ran into Jazz in the hallway. "Oh, hi, Tucker, Sam," she said, waving the flashlight in her hand a little half-heartedly.

"Hey, Jazz." Tucker and Sam waved back in the same manner.

"You've got a flashlight in there, right?" she asked Danny, raising her eyebrows and nodding towards his room.

Danny nodded and yawned again. Jazz rolled her eyes and headed downstairs, muttering under her breath about power outages. Tucker and Sam went in Danny's room, and he followed them, turning to close the door as he entered.

His hand passed right through the door as he tried to push it closed. Frowning, he tried to close the door again. Same thing. A cold tingling had worked its way up his arm.

"Danny?" Sam spoke from behind him, sounding worried. "What's—are you okay?"

He shrugged, giving up on the door and turning to her. "Yeah, I guess." He yawned again. "Just… tired. And…" He looked at his hand, which felt… normal again. Huh. "Yeah." He walked over to his bed and sat down with a sigh. "There's a flashlight on the desk somewhere."

"Found it," Tucker said, holding it up and turning it on. It illuminated the room a little, enough so they could see each other. He set it upright in the floor between them, sitting down in the chair at the desk while Sam sat on the chest at the foot of the bed. "Um, dude, are you sure you're feeling all right?"

Danny rubbed his eyes with one hand, stifling a yawn without success. "I guess… yeah. Just really tired, and my… feels like my arm keeps falling asleep or something." He opened and closed one hand, and shrugged. He glanced up and saw their worried expressions. "Guys, what? You're acting like... like…" He yawned again and flopped back on the bed. "Oof."

Sam bit her lip. "Well, you didn't see…"

"Dude, you looked—when the Portal chucked you out, you looked—"

"Different."

"Mmf. How?" He remained sprawled on the bed.

"I—" Tucker broke off and stumbled over his words a moment. "It was like—all the colors were backwards, or something. You saw the suit…"

"And—never mind that whole thing with the—the rings," Sam said. "Are you—you _sure_ you feel all right?"

"Mm. Yeah. Mostly." He shifted on the bed a little.

"Really?" A pause. "Danny."

No response.

"_Danny._" Sam reached over and tapped his leg.

He didn't move.

Tucker grinned a little. "I think he's asleep."

"Oh, ha ha," Sam said, glaring at him. "It's not funny."

"Why not?"

"He wasn't this tired like—five minutes ago. He was--he was _fine_ five minutes ago, and now he's asleep?" She frowned and got up, walking closer to Danny. "Something's wrong." She reached down and grabbed his shoulder to shake him awake—

Her hand passed right through his shoulder and touched the bedspread instead. She jerked back—it was _cold_, really cold.

"What is it?"

Her voice shook, which surprised her. "My—my hand, it—it went right through him!" She looked back at Tucker, her eyes wide. "I'm not—what _happened_ to him?"

Tucker stared a moment, and shrugged. "I don't know. You think the Portal—"

He was cut off by a series of polyphonic beeps rising from Sam's backpack, still strewn on the floor. Sam jumped in surprise, then scowled and walked over to dig through her bag and extract the cell phone. "Hello? …Hi, Mom." Her scowled deepened a little. "Yeah, I'm fine. … _Really_, I'm fine. … Yeah. Yeah, the power's out here, too. … Yes, I'll try and get home as soon as possible. Yes. _Yes._ Yeah. Okay. I'll see you when I get home. I will. _Yes._ Bye." She snapped the phone closed and let out an aggravated sigh.

"Your Mom?"

"Yeah," Sam said, sitting down on the trunk with a sigh. "You think Jazz'll give me a ride home? Mom's gonna lose it if I don't get back soon." She grinned a little, but it faded as she glanced back at Danny.

Tucker shrugged. "Dunno. My Mom probably wants me home too…" He looked over at Danny as well.

There was a slight knock on the door. They both looked up to see Jazz coming in with her flashlight. "Tucker, Sam, Mom wants you guys to call your parents, let them know you're all right."

"I just got a call from my Mom," Sam said, holding up her phone.

"And I'll get right on that," Tucker said, digging in one pocket.

"Uh, Jazz, is there any way you can give me a ride home?" Sam asked. "I think my Mom's gonna freak if I don't get home soon, and my parents would kill me if I walked home in this weather…"

Jazz shrugged, and managed to keep most of the grimace off her face. "I'll give both you guys a ride, sure." She glanced at Danny, still contentedly passed out on his bed, her expression changing slightly.

"He was tired," Sam supplied, seeing her face. "He just passed out." She shrugged.

"Oh. Did he have too much pizza?" Jazz asked a wry grin on her face. "I swear, sometimes he eats like Dad…"

"Well, they ate half a pizza between them," Sam said, glancing at Tucker, who was dialing a number on his PDA.

"Hey…"

Sam shrugged and grinned a little, though the expression quickly faded. She glanced back at Danny briefly, but he looked... normal. Maybe... a little more worn out than usual, but it might have just been the poor lighting, catching all the shadows in his face.

Tucker got hold of his mother, and after waiting for the thunder and lightning outside to slowly fade and rumble away, Jazz got her keys and Tucker and Sam reluctantly left Danny to sleep peacefully, both glancing back worriedly as they walked out of his room and down the stairs.

Danny turned over in his sleep and dozed for a while longer. When the power flicked back on, about half an hour after blowing out, he woke with an unpleased shock as the lights penetrated his eyelids. Still half asleep but aware enough to realize he was dead tired and still in his street clothes, he fell out of bed long enough to change into his pajamas. That done (the clothes abandoned on the floor), he turned out the light and fell back into bed, asleep again almost instantly.


	10. Chapter Two Part Three

**Author's Note:** I'm not entirely sure what the proper etiquette for responding to reader reviews is, which is why I've been mum on responding the whole time I've been posting this.

That said, I want to thank everyone who's left a review for this story and everyone who's added it to their watch list thingus. Your thought is greatly appreciated; it's nice to know there's someone out there reading.

Thanks,

Skye

**Chapter Two – This Day of Change**

**Part Three**

He drifted in vast darkness, tired but content.

A pinprick of blinding light in the unending and ending darkness. Sleep fell over the precipice into dream.

_lightpainmemorylife_

The light brightened and brightened and drove darkness away.

_LightPainMemoryLife_

He squinted in the brightness and held up a hand to shade his face.

_Light_

The light brightened and he closed his eyes and looked away. And then up again at his hand—

_Pain_

--and in the light he could just barely see it, transparent, letting the light through...

_Memory_

And the light grew brighter still and he closed his eyes, but even that did no good—

_Life_

It broke something, something deep inside him and the light entered and it began again—

Light entering him, pain all over, and holding on to Life and Memories and yet still being split, torn, ripped in half—

"YAAAAH!"

He sat up, panting, shivering, scared out of his mind—

_A dream. It was just a dream. _He calmed his breathing slowly, slowly, his eyes closed and one hand rubbing his forehead.

_--lightpainmemorylife—_

_No._ He shook his head and took a deep breath. _Just a dream._ He sat there a few minutes, listening to the house; he could hear the faint sounds of his father's snoring from a couple rooms away, and the quiet constant ticking of that clock at the end of the hall. The rain gently tapping on his windowsill. And his own steady but shaking breathing.

_I'll—I'll get a drink of water,_ he thought, taking another breath. He let it out in a tired sigh, pulled back the bedclothes and trudged out of his room and down the hall to the bathroom, his eyes half-closed as sleep tried to drag him back again.

Flip on the light in the bathroom and squint at the brightness. Shake head a little, grab a cup from the dispenser in the wall, turn on the tap, fill it with cold water, and raise head to take a drink.

He saw his reflection in the mirror.

His eyes widened.

He dropped—didn't _drop_—the cup of water, where it plunked to the sink, spilling.

"I—what--?!"

He backed up into—literally, _into_ the door. He jumped, looked down, saw the black and white jumpsuit—_but I wasn't wearing that--_and jerked forward again, towards the mirror, his eyes wider than ever.

It was him, himself. It had to be. Him, but—different.

He stared at his panicked reflection, taking in the details frantically. Hair white, snow white, instead of black. And the suit, he realized, looking down, was the same. It _had_ been white with black gloves before, and now—the reverse.

He glanced back up in the mirror, met his reflection's eyes. Eyes bright green and almost... glowing? He blinked and noticed in the mirror, in his reflection... an almost... aura around himself, glowing faintly white.

_What—what happened?_

He looked back at his reflection, his face, those bright green eyes. He stared at his reflection a long time. Gradually, his quickened breath slowed, and the… adrenaline? stopped thundering through his brain. He blinked and started—his eyes had… _flickered_. Once green and glowing, now only blue, that familiar bright blue.

"Huh?"

He stared and blinked a few more times, watching as his eyes flashed back and forth, between green and blue until—

His stomach somersaulted, and he looked down in time to see that bright ball of light appearing at his waist and spreading into those rings. He closed his eyes as the one passed his face and when he opened them—

He saw his own familiar reflection, wide-eyed and scared. Black hair, blue eyes, same old pajamas. "Wh—what?" He looked down at himself; everything the same as it would be on any other night. Back up at his reflection.

Normal.

Hands shaking a little, he reached into the sink and very carefully picked up the cup he had dropped (but hadn't _dropped_). It stayed in his hand, solid and… normal. He filled it back up, downed the water and tossed it crumpled into the wastebasket. He stared at his reflection, silently expecting… what?

Turn out the light, go back down the hall, and go back to sleep.

But he climbed back into bed with his mind racing. What _was _that? What had happened? More importantly, how?

This last he dwelt on as the near silence of the house pressed around him, thinking, running things over and over in his mind. Coming back to one thing.

The Portal.


	11. Chapter Three Part One

Chapter Three – The Day After

**Chapter Three – The Day After**

**Part One**

Danny dozed off a few minutes or hours or days after his disturbing discovery, and slept long and peacefully. He woke when the sun reached across from his window and over his face, winced and mumbled under his breath a little about it being too early (though in the back of his mind, with a wince, he knew it was really too late). General tiredness aside, he actually felt pretty good; he got dressed in some fresh clothes and made his way down to find something for breakfast.

He ran into Jazz on the stairs. "About time," she said, raising an eyebrow.

Danny yawned a little. "G'morning, Jazz."

"It's almost afternoon, Sleeping Beauty," she remarked, smirking. "And if Mom or Dad asks, I went to the library." She continued past him up the stairs.

"Huh?" Danny turned around. "Why're you going there?"

"Well," she said, glancing back at him, "I've got an idea for my thesis that I want to research, for one. And apparently something happened with the Portal last night when the power blew, so…" Jazz rolled her eyes and gave him a knowing look.

At which he winced and turned back around before she could see him flush. _Something happened with the Portal all right…_ "Oh. Okay. I'll tell Mom." He fled down the stairs and tried not to think about it when he tripped on the last step. Because it wasn't tripping exactly.

"I'm fine," he muttered to himself as he entered the kitchen. Except for the notes and empty coffee cups spread on the table, the room was empty. Thankfully. He walked over to the kitchen cabinet and reached up to open it.

This proved to be a little difficult, as his hand was no longer there to assist in the procedure.

"Wha--?!"

He stared at his hand—or at least the faintly glowing outline of it. And through it he could see the kitchen counter. "What the _heck_--?" He shook his hand a little; it came back to solidity.

Danny had never before taken for granted how easy putting together a bowl of cereal had been; he did so now, as he spent much of the next fifteen minutes grabbing things and dropping them through his hands, reaching for things only to find whichever hand was doing the reaching had decided to mysteriously vanish, and so on. He gave up completely on trying to pour milk over his cereal when he opened the fridge and looked down to find that he had vanished completely. And given the trouble he had had simply getting the bowl, spoon, and cereal... He shuddered to think of the mess that might be left if his hand decided to drop the milk carton mid-pour.

What bugged him, though, was… _why_ was all this happening? Perhaps more importantly, _how?_

The Portal. Something had happened with the Portal, last night. But what?

_Okay, plan,_ he thought, chewing on his cereal absently. _Call Tuck and Sam. Maybe…_ He sighed and rubbed his forehead. _Call Tuck and Sam. Maybe they saw something._

So with something of a plan in place, Danny tried to relax and finish his cereal. The steadily rising din from the lab, however, kept him on edge; every sudden bang made him jerk in surprise and drop his spoon (through his hand). After one particularly loud clank, Danny almost fell out of his chair, and his whole arm vanished in response. He had just managed to bring it back to visibility when the door to the basement opened and his mother entered the kitchen.

"Oh, good morning, Danny," she said warmly, pulling back the hood on her jumpsuit and smiling at him. "Did you sleep well last night, sweetie?"

"Mmmf." Danny nodded and swallowed the mouthful of cereal he had shoved in his mouth. "Yeah, pretty well." He looked down at his bowl, then back up at his mother, who had bent over some of the papers on the table. "Um, what're you and Dad doing downstairs, exactly...?"

"Oh, it's the Portal," Maddie replied a little distractedly. "Something _must_ have happened during the power outage last night, because every test we've run says it's working—oh, did Jazz mention that to you?" She looked up at him. "The Portal's working! Your father couldn't be happier. I don't know what happened—every diagnostic I've run through says it's working like it should, but..." She gestured down at the table.

"That's great!" Danny said, forcing cheer into his voice. He glanced down at his cereal bowl again—nearly empty. "Um, anyway, is it all right if Tucker and Sam come over for a little bit, I was thinking we could go out for a movie later since the weather's cleared up?"

"Sure, sweetie." Maddie smiled at him warmly.

Danny forced a smile and scarfed down another spoonful of cereal. He then got up, placed his bowl carefully in the sink, and fled the kitchen. He shook his head and headed upstairs, one hand gripping the banister tightly, until it gripped nothing at all. He jerked back with a shock and collapsed against the wall, staring between his translucent hand and the kitchen door.

_I could have told Mom and Dad. They'd know something about this... wouldn't they?_

_The Portal, though. Ghosts?_

He felt his stomach clench. _...No. Not now. Not... not yet, anyway._ He took a deep breath and continued up to his room. After digging through the mess on his desk a moment, he pulled out his cell phone, and hit the speed dial number to call Sam.


	12. Chapter Three Part Two

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Just a quick let-you-know--there will not be an update next week. I'm going on vacation with my family and I won't have internet access. Updates should continue on July 11.

**Chapter Three – The Day After**

**Part Two**

Several blocks away, Sam Manson, tapping away on her laptop, jumped as her cell phone rang suddenly from across the room. "What?" She closed the laptop halfway, scrambled off her bed and over to her desk where her cell phone sat charging. Quick glance at the caller ID—Danny.

The phone was open and to her ear in a flash.

"Hello, Danny?"

"Hey, Sam," he replied, his voice a little strained.

She frowned. "You okay?"

"Um, yeah, mostly. Why?"

"Because you sound a little—" A burst of static, and then a loud thump and series of clatters cut across her words, and she heard, rather distantly, Danny grumbling. "What was that? Danny? Danny?"

A small scraping sound, loud in her ears, and Danny replied, "I... I, uh, dropped the phone. Sort of."

"Sort of? Danny's what's—"

More static, another thump, this time a little lighter, and she heard Danny a bit more clearly this time: "Darn it!" A moment later—"Dropped it again, sorry. Um, can you come over like as soon as you can?"

Sam's frown deepened. "Danny, what's going on?"

"I don't—arrgh!" Another burst of static.

"Danny, what's--?"

"Look"—there was a hurried shuffling from his end—"look, can you call Tucker please? Because I don't think--" More static and thumps, and she heard him sigh in exasperation. "I don't think I'll be able to hold the phone that long."

"_Hold_ the phone--?"

"Can you do it, please, Sam?"

Sam could almost see his frustrated and pleading expression in her head. "Um, sure."

"Thank you! I'll see you—" The static cut him off, and she heard him groan. "See you then?"

"Um, I guess..."

He hung up.

Sam hit the button to end the call, but stared at the phone in her hand a moment. _What the heck...?_ She shook her head. _Something to do with last night,_ she concluded quickly. _Has to be._

_...Well, what else _could _it be?_

She sighed and dialed Tucker's number.

Fifteen or so minutes later, the doorbell at Fenton Works rang loudly (Jack having modified it years before so it could be heard down in the lab and over whatever din might be commencing there). Danny yelled that he was getting it and tore down the stairs, feeling somewhat relieved; at least that tight feeling in his stomach was starting to wear off. He opened the door to see Tucker and Sam, Tucker looking a little tired and Sam more than a little worried.

"Danny," she said, staring at him, "what's wrong?"

Danny bit his lip and glanced over at the door to the kitchen. "Not... I'll tell you... Upstairs. C'mon." He stepped aside to let them in and closed the door, and the trio went upstairs.

Once in Danny's room, Sam repeated her question.

Danny avoided her gaze, glancing sheepishly down at his feet. He walked over to his bed and collapsed on it with a sigh. "Something—something happened last night."

"No kidding," Tucker said, stifling a yawn.

"No, I mean—after you guys left." Danny let out a deep breath. "I—I had a nightmare and I woke up and I went to get a drink, you know? And I—I looked—different," he finished lamely.

A pause as Tucker and Sam both blinked at him.

"Different how?" Sam asked finally, carefully.

"Like—I don't know." He sighed, his head in his hands. "I was wearing the jumpsuit again, but—it was black and white instead of the other way around and—my hair was white and—"

"That was how you looked last night, dude!" Tucker exclaimed. "When the Portal threw you out on the floor—"

"And I was thinking," Danny said, hurrying now, "because I—I can't explain it, but—I'm dropping stuff. Without... dropping it."

Sam blinked; Tucker wore a similar expression.

"Look," Danny said, leaning across his bed and grabbing his cell phone off the nightstand. "Look, see, I've got it, but sometimes..." He tossed it between his hands almost nonchalantly, until once he tossed it and—

The receiving hand made to grab it, but just as the cell phone made contact or something, it was hard to tell—

Danny's hand and wrist went translucent and the cell phone flew right through it, landing on the floor with a loud thunk.

Tucker and Sam both stared.

"It's—it's been happening all morning," Danny said, flapping his hand around until it returned to normal, then bending over to retrieve the phone and toss it on his bed. "And I think it has something to do with what happened last night with the Portal. Because… the Portal's—it's working now. I don't know how, but it is."

"What's that mean for you?" Sam asked.

Danny shrugged. "I don't know. And I just—I want to try and figure out what happened. What happened when I turned on the Portal."

"We don't know any more than you do, man," Tucker said, shrugging back at him. "It turned on, and you disappeared in some kinda light thing, and then it chucked you out on the floor."

Sam nodded in agreement, then asked, "Do you remember anything? I mean, it was… well, you know, you."

Danny shook his head. "Not much. I mean—I saw the light and—and I think I passed out or something. I woke up and… yeah. So… what happened?"

Sam could only shrug.

Tucker frowned a moment, thinking, then said, "You plus that light from the Portal equals freaky superpowers?"

Danny and Sam stared.

"What?" Tucker shrugged and grinned. "Think about it! How many guys in the comic books got their superpowers in a lab accident? You just had your very own superhero origin story!"

Danny couldn't help but continue to stare. "I am _not_ going to be a superhero, Tuck," he said finally, frowning and shaking his head. "I just –I just want to figure out what's wrong with me." He sighed and looked up at his friends, his eyes wide, desperate. "And if I can get things back to... normal," he clenched and unclenched his fists slowly, "that would be _great._" There was the thinnest edge of sarcasm to his final words.

"Danny..." Sam bit her lower lip, then got up and sat down on the bed next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Tucker sobered a bit. "We're here for you, man."

"Thanks, guys."

A long silence passed between them, a silence of quiet understanding. This had started, and they would each see it through to some end.


	13. Chapter Three Part Three

Chapter Three – The Day After

**Chapter Three – The Day After**

**Part Three**

Sam broke the silence. "Okay, so. If we're gonna figure out what happened, we need to... get some more information. Or something." She frowned, a little uncertain. "Like... what happened when the Portal went off."

"We could ask your parents," Tucker suggested, looking at Danny, but Danny shook his head.

"I don't—I don't want to tell them," he stammered. "Not yet."

"Why not?" Sam asked.

Danny took a deep breath. "Because," he said. "Because... well, heh," the laugh was weak and did not meet his eyes, "we—I wasn't supposed to be messing with the Portal and stuff. And... it's—it's a Ghost Portal, isn't it? So what if..." He trailed off, looking forlorn.

Tucker and Sam exchanged a glance. Sam started in again, "Well, if you don't want to... fine." She shrugged.

"We're not gonna say anything," Tucker added. Sam nodded in agreement.

"I still think we should find out what happened when the Portal went off," she continued, folding her arms. "Because it prolly has something to do with whatever happened to you." She waved a hand up and down at Danny.

"How do you plan on doing that?" Danny asked.

"It's a valid question," Sam said.

"She's got a point," Tucker said. "I mean, you wouldn't have to bring up the particulars or anything, you could just ask."

"You ever asked my Dad a question about Ghost stuff, Tuck?" Danny asked, grinning a little bit.

"Not really," Tucker replied with a shrug. "Just about the inventions and stuff."

"Yeah, well, heh," Danny shook his head, "I learned a long time ago that you don't. Not unless you want a full blown lecture."

Tucker and Sam both grinned at this.

"Well... what about your Mom, then?" Sam suggested. "Could she give a quickie layman's version or something?"

Danny shrugged. "Probably. You want to ask her like right now or what?"

Sam shook her head. "Not now. We can do it later." She sighed, thinking. "Okay, what else..." A short silence followed, Tucker and Danny both watching her intently. After a minute, she looked at Danny. "What about school on Monday?"

"What about school on Monday?"

"Well..." Sam struggled with her words a moment. "You know..."

"I—" His eyes widened in understanding. "Oh crud. I don't know, I mean..." He trailed off and took a deep breath and looked down at his hands briefly. They were slightly translucent at the edges. "I don't know. Crud. Crud crud _crud._" With a deep breath, he looked back up at Tucker and Sam. "I can't help it, it just—_happens._ How am I supposed to—" He broke off.

"I—we'll think of something," Sam said. She bit her lip. "We'll think of something," she repeated. The words sounded even less confident.

"Well, we've got Health, Bio and History together," Tucker said, ticking the classes off on his fingers. "And—neither of us has fourth with you, but there's lunch, then Gym..." He frowned, thinking. "And then—"

"I've got Spanish," Danny supplied.

"Yeah, we don't, but—we've got last period together, so..." Tucker glanced at Sam. "What about that?"

Sam blinked slowly. "So you're completely alone for two periods." She looked over at Danny. "Do you think you could stay solid for two periods? I mean, we can cover you in the classes we have with you, but..."

"I don't know. Maybe?" Danny looked sheepish.

"Okay." Sam took a deep breath. "Okay, it's something, right? We'll try."

"Sounds good."

"All right." Danny took a deep breath. "All right."


End file.
